Florida job cuts in May double over same month a year ago

Florida had twice as many announced job cuts, 3,082, in May compared with the 1,428 in the same month a year ago, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday.

Layoffs were the highest among states in the South, the global outplacement firm said.

Year-to-date, the job cuts were 10,606 compared with 6,472 for January to May 2012.

Sweetbay Supermarkets in Tampa laid off 2,000 workers. Others were across the state in healthcare and aerospace and defense cuts, due to sequestration, Challenger said.

Florida's numbers were opposite the national, with monthly job cuts declining for the third consecutive month. U.S. employers announced plans to trim payrolls by 36,398 in May, 4.5 percent fewer than 38,121 in April.

Compared to a year ago, the May total was 41 percent lower than a year ago.

To date, the nation’s employers have announced 219,560 planned job cuts in 2013. That is down 11 percent from the 245,540 planned cuts announced in the first five months of 2012.